The number of unemployed fell by 14,100 in the third quarter of 2009 and the jobless rate remains steady at 17.9%
- The number of employed fell 0.39% to 18,870,200
- The working population has fallen below 23 million
According to data from the Survey on Working Population made available today, unemployment fell in the third quarter of this year, but the job market is still feeling the effects of the current economic crisis.
The third quarter ended with 4,123,300 employed, 14,100 less than the previous quarter. It is the first time in two years that the Survey shows a drop in unemployment, compared to job losses of 802,800 in the first quarter of 2009 (January through March) and 126,700 in the second quarter. The unemployment rate remains practically unchanged at 17.93% (compared to 17.92% in the second quarter).
Data from the Spanish National Institute for Statistics (INE) show another decline in the working population for the second quarter in a row, after eight years of uninterrupted growth. The working population fell by 89,000 between July and September. The employment rate for the segment of the population aged 16 to 64 remains steady at 73.91%.
In the third quarter employment fell 0.39% compared to the second quarter. The total number of employed reached 18,870,200, or 74,800 less than at the beginning of July.
The worsening of the job market continues to affect men more than women, as in previous quarters. The inter-annual employment rate for women fell by 3.85%, whereas the same rate for men fell by 9.74% over the last year.
According to these data, employment fell in all sectors except for services, where it has risen by 126,200. The fall in employment was strongest in industry (-79,800), followed by construction (-71,700) and agriculture (-49,500). The services sector continues to behave less negatively in inter-annual terms, with an inter-annual decline of 2.78%, less strong than in agriculture (-6.37%), industry (-14.89%), and especially construction, where the number of employed went down by 23.32% over the third quarter of 2008.
Inter-quarterly figures show a notable increase in the number of employed with temporary 2-year employment contracts (1.88% over the second quarter) so that the temporary employment rate rose 7 decimal points to 25.9% Nevertheless, in annual terms the difference is still marked, with 898,800 less temporarily employed than 12 months ago.
